The trailers for Hope Springs might lead you to believe it's a romantic comedy about a couple trying to jumpstart their sexless marriage but it causes more empathetic cringing than chuckles. Audiences will be drawn to Hope Springs by its stars Meryl Streep Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell and Streep's track record of pleasing summer movies like Julie &amp; Julia and Mamma Mia! that offer a respite from the blockbusters flooding theaters. Despite what its marketing might have you believe Hope Springs isn't a rom-com. The film is a disarming mixture of deeply intimate confessions by a married couple in the sanctuary of a therapist's office awkwardly honest attempts by that couple to physically reconnect and incredibly sappy scenes underscored by intrusive music. Boldly addressing female desire especially in older women it's hard not to give the movie extra credit for what writer Vanessa Taylor's script is trying to convey and its rarity in mainstream film. The ebb and flow of intimacy and desire in a long-term relationship is what drives Hope Springs and while there are plenty contrived moments and unresolved issues it is frankly surprising and surprisingly frank. It's a summer release from a major studio with high caliber stars aimed squarely at the generally underserved 50+ audience addressing the even more taboo topic of that audience's sex life.
Streep plays Kay a suburban wife who's deeply unsatisfied emotionally and sexually by her marriage to Arnold. Arnold who is played by Tommy Lee Jones as his craggiest sleeps in a separate bedroom now that their kids have left the nest; he's like a stone cold robot emotionally and physically and Kay tiptoes around trying to make him happy even as he ignores her every gesture. One of the most striking scenes in the movie is at the very beginning when Kay primps and fusses over her modest sleepwear in the hopes of seducing her husband. Streep makes it obvious that this isn't an easy thing for Kay; it takes all her guts to try and wordlessly suggest sex to her husband and when she's shot down it hurts to watch. This isn't a one time disconnect between their libidos; this is an ongoing problem that leaves Kay feeling insecure and undesirable.
After a foray into the self-help section of her bookstore Kay finds a therapist who holds week-long intensive couples' therapy sessions in Good Hope Springs ME and in a seemingly unprecedented moment of decisiveness she books a trip for the couple. Arnold of course is having none of it but he eventually comes along for the ride. That doesn't mean he's up for answering any of Dr. Feld's questions though. To be fair Dr. Feld (Carell) is asking the couple deeply intimate questions so if Arnold is comfortable foisting his amorous wife off with the excuse he had pork for lunch it's not so far-fetched to believe he'd be angry when Feld asks him about his fantasy life or masturbation habits.
Although Arnold gets a pass on some of his issues Kay is forthright about why and how she's dissatisfied. When Dr. Feld asks her if she masturbates she says she doesn't because it makes her too sad. Kay offers similar revelations; she's willing to bare it all to revive her marriage while Arnold thinks the fact that they're married at all means they must be happy. Carell's Dr. Feld is soothing and kind (even a bit bland) but it's always a pleasure to see him play it straight.
It's subversive for a mega-watt star to play a character that talks about how sexually unsatisfied she is and how unsexy she feels with the man she loves most in the world. The added taboo of Kay and Arnold's age adds that much more to the conversation. Kay and Arnold's attempts at intimacy are emotionally raw and hard to watch. Even when things get funny they're mostly awkward funny not ha-ha funny.
The rest of the movie is a little uneven wrapped up tightly and happily by the end. Their time spent soul-searching alone is a little cheesy especially when Kay ends up in a local bar where she gets a little dizzy on white wine while dishing about her problems to the bartender (Elisabeth Shue). Somewhere along the line what probably started out as a character study ended up as a wobbly drama that pushes some boundaries but eventually lets everyone off the emotional hook in favor of a smoothed-over happy ending. Still its disarming moments and performances almost balance it out. Although its target audience might be dismayed to find it's not as light-hearted as it would seem Hope Springs offers up the opportunity for discussion about sexuality and aging at a time when books and films like 50 Shades of Grey and Magic Mike are perking up similar conversations. In the end that's a good thing.

Day seven of the Olympics. Hooray for surviving the past week! But boo for the lack of shut-eye we've been getting due to the late-night coverage. (If someone can sue McDonalds over a hot coffee, technically shouldn't we be able to sue NBC for the military-sized duffel bags taking up residence under our eyes? No? Okay.)
So on the one-week anniversary of what we're calling "No Sleep 'Til Closing Ceremony," we once again took one for the team — Hey! Where's our gold medal? — and compiled the day's best highs (and lows).
Swim? Yes We Can!: Now that Ryan Lochte is officially done in the pool, the five-time medal holder can focus on more important things — like his 28th birthday today. Moving aside for half man/half fish Michael Phelps to do something he's never done before: monopolize the headlines — which earned him a call from the Big Guy in the White House. Today — at Phelps' last Olympics (says him) — he swam in his last individual event, the 100 meter butterfly. Despite taking first, he was still ages away from the world record he set back in 2009. And by ages, we mean more like mere seconds. Phelps will compete once more on Saturday in his last medley relay. We promise it will be the last time we'll say last… and Phelps in the same sentence.
Teen phenom (and Aurora, CO resident) Missy Franklin, however, did earn a world record and her third gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke. Fellow teammate and teenager Katie Ledecky can't drive a car, but she can drive home a win. The golden girl gave Team USA another first place finish by beating everyone else in the 16 long laps you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy, also known as the 800 meter freestyle.
Life Isn't Always a Beach: Competing on behalf of your country in board shorts might look like fun, but it's really really hard work. Just ask the men's beach volleyball team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, Beijing's gold-medal winners. The pair — who were expected to bring home the hardware again — were ousted by the cannoli-loving country of Italy. Our only chance of a shiny medal now for the men is Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, who are due to take on Russia. The women were more successful (despite wearing less clothing than the men). Jennifer Keys and April Ross advanced to the quarterfinals.
Brothers and Ball Girls: Doubles partners and twins, Mike and Bob Bryan, had already earned the title of the twins we'd most like to go on a double date with. Though is it still a double date if it's just us and them? But today they earned something equally exciting — for them — their first spot in an Olympic finals. This guarantees them a medal higher than the bronze they won in Beijing. See, exciting.
Speaking of siblings, the Williams sisters — Serena and Venus — were set to play today for their own spot in the women's doubles finals. (Serena could earn two medals as today she also advanced to the upcoming gold medal match in tennis singles.) But their duos match was pushed to the next day due to a busy schedule. Guess we can blame the tight semi-final match that lasted four-and-a-half hours between Switzerland's Roger Federer and Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro. Federer will now play the UK's Andy Murray. Both men are hoping to change the fact that a singles gold medal has eluded them both. Until now.
Undefeated, a.k.a. Booyah Baby: Women's soccer has been in the press a lot (black eyes, bad commentators), but the thing that deserves the most ink is their ability to go this far in the Summer Games with nothing listed under the losses column. The gaggle of girls whooped New Zealand two-nothing to move on to the semis.
[Image Credit: Getty Images]
More:
Olympic Round-Up: Gabby Douglas and Other Team USA Dominations
Olympics Round-Up: Disqualifications, World Records, and Scandal!
Olympics Round-Up: Michael Phelps is a Golden God

Troubled by unfortunate event after unfortunate event The Watch sidesteps faux pas to come out on top as a consistently funny sci-fi comedy that doesn't let its high concept tangle up a bevy of one-liners. The script penned by Jared Stern Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg assumes you've seen a few movies before entering the theater (mainly any sci-fi movie made in the 1980s). "Summer movie logic" is the foundation for The Watch's ridiculous plot which finds four adult nincompoops teaming up to form a Neighborhood Watch trying to solve the murder of a local Costco employee and eventually pursuing a killer extraterrestrial. Instead of making sense of it all The Watch wisely focuses on its four leads: Ben Stiller Vince Vaughn Jonah Hill and The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade — a quartet whose bro banter goes a long way in spicing up the dust-covered material. There's nothing revelatory to be found in The Watch but the cast's knack for improv a poetry of the profane makes the adventure worth…viewing.
Director Akiva Schaffer (Hot Rod) establishes his two-dimensional characters quickly and bluntly smashing together broad personality types like a Hadron Collider of cinematic comedy. Stiller's Evan is a micromanaging do-gooder who can't find time for his wife; Hill's Franklin is a mildly disturbed weapons enthusiast yearning to join the police; Ayoade is the quaint weirdo who joins the Watch to fill the void left by his divorce; Vince Vaughn is Vince Vaughn: a loud crass gent looking for a bit of male bonding. The ragtag team assembles to fight crime but they spend most of their time drinking beers in a minivan — an affair they dub "stakeouts." A perfect opportunity for banter.
For a movie about enforcing the law and alien invasions there's a surprising lack of action in The Watch. Long stretches of the film see the central players yapping back and forth about everything: Russian nesting dolls peeing in cans or the similar viscosities of alien goo and human excrement. Charisma goes a long way and Vaughn does much of the heavy lifting making up for lost time out of the spotlight (he's been virtually nonexistent since 2005's Wedding Crashers). The man spits out jokes like no other — the rest of the cast barely keeps up. Ayoade balances out Vaughn's bombardment with a tempered timed delivery that's uniquely British and rarely found on the American big screen. Even when nothing's happening in The Watch it's rarely boring.
The Watch is at its best when it goes a step further mixing the group in with outsiders and throwing them off their rhythm. Billy Crudup cuts loose as a creepy neighbor and its delightfully weird while the always-impressive Rosemarie DeWitt as Evan's wife Abby brings unexpected warmth to the couple's relationship. Sadly The Watch mishandles its greatest asset: the aliens. The film never finds a pitch perfect blend of comedy and science fiction (Ghostbusters or Galaxy Quest this is not); a few scenes where the two come together hint at the best possible scenario but more often than not The Watch avoids its sci-fi roots. A moment in which the guys haul a dead alien back to their man cave plays like an E.T.-inspired version of The Hangover credits. It's lewd and ridiculous but the rest of the film struggles to maintain that energy.
Stiller Vaughn Hill and Ayoade have all proved themselves able funnymen capable of taking weak and tired material up a notch which they're forced to do in every moment of The Watch. Schaffer can handle his talent but his direction isn't adding anything to the mix. By the third slow-motion-set-to-gangster-rap scene The Lonely Island member's obsession with non-cool-coolness is officially just an attempt at being cool (which is not all that funny). The Watch has a greater opportunity than most comedy blockbusters to go absolutely bonkers: it's rated R. But instead of taking its twist and running with it the movie plays it safe. In this case safe is non-stop jokes about the many facets of human reproduction.

Widening the thematic scope without sacrificing too much of the claustrophobia that made the original 1979 Alien universally spooky Prometheus takes the trophy for this summer's most adult-oriented blockbuster entertainment. The movie will leave your mouth agape for its entire runtime first with its majestic exploration of an alien planet and conjectures on the origins of the human race second with its gross-out body horror that leaves no spilled gut to the imagination. Thin characters feel more like pawns in Scott's sci-fi prequel but stunning visuals shocking turns and grand questions more than make up for the shallow ensemble. "Epic" comes in many forms. Prometheus sports all of them.
Based on their discovery of a series of cave drawings all sharing a similar painted design Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) are recruited by Weyland to head a mission to another planet one they believe holds the answers to the creation of life on Earth. Along for the journey are Vickers (Charlize Theron) the ruthless Weyland proxy Janek (Idris Elba) a blue collar captain a slew of faceless scientists and David (Michael Fassbender) HAL 9000-esque resident android who awakens the crew of spaceship Prometheus when they arrive to their destination. Immediately upon descent there's a discovery: a giant mound that's anything but natural. The crew immediately prepares to scope out the scene zipping up high-tech spacesuits jumping in futuristic humvees and heading out to the site. What they discover are the awe-inspiring creations of another race. What they bring back to the ship is what they realize may kill their own.
The first half of Prometheus could be easily mistaken for Steven Spielberg's Alien a sense of wonder glowing from every frame not too unlike Close Encounters. Scott takes full advantage of his fictional settings and imbues them with a reality that makes them even more tantalizing. He shoots the vistas of space and the alien planet like National Geographic porn and savors the interior moments on board the Prometheus full of hologram maps sleeping pods and do-it-yourself surgery modules with the same attention. Prometheus is beautiful shot in immersive 3D that never dampers Dariusz Wolski's sharp photography. Scott's direction seems less interested in the run-or-die scenario set up in the latter half of the film but the film maintains tension and mood from beginning to end. It all just gets a bit…bloodier.
Jon Spaihts' and Damon Lindelof's script doesn't do the performers any favors shuffling them to and fro between the ship and the alien construction without much room for development. Reveals are shoehorned in without much setup (one involving Theron's Vickers that's shockingly mishandled) but for the most part the ensemble is ready to chomp into the script's bigger picture conceits. Rapace is a physical performer capable of pulling off a grisly scene involving an alien some sharp objects and a painful procedure (sure to be the scene of the blockbuster season. Among the rest of the crew Fassbender's David stands out as the film's revelatory performance delivering a digestible ambiguity to his mechanical man that playfully toys with expectations from his first entrance. The creature effects in Prometheus will wow you but even Fassbender's smallest gesture can send the mind spinning. The power of his smile packs more of a punch than any facehugger.
Much like Lindelof's Lost Prometheus aims to explore the idea of asking questions and seeking answers and on Scott's scale it's a tremendous unexpected ride. A few ideas introduced to spur action fall to the way side in the logic department but with a clear mission and end point Prometheus works as a sweeping sci-fi that doesn't require choppy editing or endless explosions to keep us on the edge of our seats. Prometheus isn't too far off from the Alien xenomorphs: born from existing DNA of another creature the movie breaks out as its own beast. And it's wilder than ever.
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A kids’ movie without the cheeky jokes for adults is like a big juicy BLT without the B… or the T. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted may have a title that sounds like it was made up in a cartoon sequel laboratory but when it comes to serving up laughs just think of the film as a BLT with enough extra bacon to satisfy even the wildest of animals — or even a parent with a gaggle of tots in tow. Yes even with that whole "Afro Circus" nonsense.
It’s not often that we find exhaustively franchised films like the Madagascar set that still work after almost seven years. Despite being spun off into TV shows and Christmas specials in addition to its big screen adventures the series has not only maintained its momentum it has maintained the part we were pleasantly surprised by the first time around: great jokes.
In this third installment of the series – the trilogy-maker if you will – directing duo Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath add Conrad Vernon (director Monsters Vs. Aliens) to the helm as our trusty gang swings back into action. Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) are stuck in Africa after the hullaballoo of Madagascar 2 and they’ll do anything to get back to their beloved New York. Just a hop skip and a jump away in Monte Carlo the penguins are doing their usual greedy schtick but the zoo animals catch up with them just in time to catch the eye of the sinister animal control stickler Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand). And just like that the practically super human captain is chasing them through Monte Carlo and the rest of Europe in hopes of planting Alex’s perfectly coifed lion head on her wall of prized animals.
Luckily for pint-sized viewers Dubois’ terrifying presence is balanced out by her sheer inhuman strength uncanny guiles and Stretch Armstrong flexibility (ah the wonder of cartoons) as well as Alex’s escape plan: the New Yorkers run away with the European circus. While Dubois’ terrifying Doberman-like presence looms over the entire film a sense of levity (which is a word the kiddies might learn from Stiller’s eloquent lion) comes from the plan for salvation in which the circus animals and the zoo animals band together to revamp the circus and catch the eye of a big-time American agent. Sure the pacing throughout the first act is practically nonexistent running like a stampede through the jungle but by the time we're palling around under the big top the film finds its footing.
The visual splendor of the film (and man is there a champion size serving of it) the magnificent danger and suspense is enhanced to great effect by the addition of 3D technology – and not once is there a gratuitous beverage or desperate Crocodile Dundee knife waved in our faces to prove its worth. The caveat is that the soundtrack employs a certain infectious Katy Perry ditty at the height of the 3D spectacular so parents get ready to hear that on repeat until the leaves turn yellow.
But visual delights and adventurous zoo animals aside Madagascar 3’s real strength is in its script. With the addition of Noah Baumbach (Greenberg The Squid and the Whale) to the screenwriting team the script is infused with a heightened level of almost sarcastic gravitas – a welcome addition to the characteristically adult-friendly reference-heavy humor of the other Madagascar films. To bring the script to life Paramount enlisted three more than able actors: Vitaly the Siberian tiger (Bryan Cranston) Gia the Leopard (Jessica Chastain) and Stefano the Italian Sealion (Martin Short). With all three actors draped in European accents it might take viewers a minute to realize that the cantankerous tiger is one and the same as the man who plays an Albuquerque drug lord on Breaking Bad but that makes it that much sweeter to hear him utter slant-curse words like “Bolshevik” with his usual gusto.
Between the laughs the terror of McDormand’s Captain Dubois and the breathtaking virtual European tour the Zoosters’ accidental vacation is one worth taking. Madagascar 3 is by no means an insta-classic but it’s a perfectly suited for your Summer-at-the-movies oasis.

He passed away at his home in Beverly Hills, California on 30 April (12) after suffering age-related complications, his publicist told the Associated Press on Friday (25May12).
Finkel produced TV series with stars including Andy Williams and Jerry Lewis, and directed sitcoms such as Barney Miller and The Bob Newhart Show.
He also won a Peabody Award for a show with Julie Andrews and produced specials featuring Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and John Denver.

A decade-long gap between sequels could leave a franchise stale but in the case of Men in Black 3 it's the launch pad for an unexpectedly great blockbuster. The kooky antics of Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) don't stray far from their 1997 and 2002 adventures but without a bombardment of follow-ups to keep the series in mind the wonderfully weird sensibilities of Men in Black feel fresh Smith's natural charisma once again on full display. Barry Sonnenfeld returns for the threequel another space alien romp with a time travel twist — which turns out to be Pandora's Box for the director's deranged imagination.
As time passed in the real world so did it for the timeline in the world of Men in Black. Picking up ten years after MIB 2 J and K are continuing to protect the Earth from alien threats and enforce the law on those who live incognito. While dealing with their own personal issues — K is at his all-time crabbiest for seemingly no reason — the suited duo encounter an old enemy Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) a prickly assassin seeking revenge on K who blew his arm off back in the '60s. Their street fight is more of a warning; Boris' real plan is to head back in time to save his arm and kill off K. He's successful prompting J to take his own leap through the time-space continuum — and team up with a younger K (Josh Brolin) to put an end to Boris plans for world domination.
Men in Black 3 is the Will Smith show. Splitting his time between the brick personalities of Jones and Brolin's K Smith struts his stuff with all the fast-talking comedic style that made him a star in yesteryears. In present day he's still the laid back normal guy in a world of oddities — J raises an eyebrow as new head honcho O (Emma Thompson) delivers a eulogy in a screeching alien tongue but coming up with real world explanations for flying saucer crashes comes a little easier. But back in 1969 he's an even bigger fish out water. Surprisingly director Barry Sonnenfeld and writer Etan Cohen dabble in the inherent issues that would spring up if a black gentlemen decked out in a slick suit paraded around New York in the late '60s. A star of Smith's caliber may stray away from that type of racy humor but the hook of Men in Black 3 is the actor's readiness for anything. He turns J's jokey anachronisms into genuine laughs and doesn't mind letting the special effect artists stretch him into an unrecognizable Twizzler for the movie's epic time jump sequence.
Unlike other summer blockbusters Men in Black 3 is light on the action Sonnenfeld utilizing his effects budget and dazzling creature work (by the legendary Rick Baker) to push the comedy forward. J's fight with an oversized extraterrestrial fish won't keep you on the edge of your seat but his slapstick escape and the marine animal's eventual demise are genuinely amusing. Sonnenfeld carries over the twisted sensibilities he displayed in small screen work like Pushing Daisies favoring bizarre banter and elaborating on the kookiness of the alien underworld than battle scenes. MIB3's chase scene is passable but the movie in its prime when Smith is sparring with Brolin and newcomer Michael Stuhlbarg who steals the show as a being capable of seeing the future. His twitchy character keeps Smith and the audience on their toes.
Men in Black 3 digs up nostalgia I wasn't aware I had. Smith's the golden boy of summer and even with modern ingenuity keeping it fresh — Sonnenfeld uses the mandatory 3D to full and fun effect — there's an element to the film that feels plucked from another era. The movie is economical and slight with plenty of lapses in logic that will provoke head scratching on the walk out of the theater but it's also perfectly executed. After ten years of cinematic neutralizing the folks behind Men in Black haven't forgotten what made the first movie work so well. After al these years Smith continues to make the goofy plot wild spectacle and crazed alien antics look good.
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Ready, set, scream! With only a week until the finale, the audience at CBS Television City was deafening as the top three American Idol contestants took the stage during Choice Week. Singing songs selected by the judges, mentor Jimmy Iovine, and himself, Phillip Phillips was clearly the lady’s choice of the evening.
It didn’t take much for Phillip to get the girls screaming Wednesday night. A little wave or boyish grin seemed to get them going before he even had a mike in his hand. From my seat in the second row at CBS, I can also tell you he seemed to be a crewmember favorite. Off-stage, he shook hands, gave high fives, and always remembered to acknowledge his band. He even encouraged the audience to cheer for stage manager Debbie Williams before the show started. But this is not a competition about who is the kindest; it’s about the music (or at least it should be).
As the final performer of the night, Phillip first took the stage to sing the judges’ choice, Madcon’s “Beggin’,” which had the crowd on their feet almost instantly. Jennifer Lopez was bouncing out of her seat while the girls in the audience continued to contribute to my future hearing aid fund. Randy Jackson called it just right when he proclaimed that it was a Phillip Phillips concert. Even the comment alone elicited one of the biggest cheers of the night.
While the judges seemed less than impressed by Phillip’s own choice, “Disease” by Matchbox 20, the girls once again didn’t wait to give him a standing ovation. Joining in on the Phillip love was this season’s fallen Idols, who were grooving along with Phillip’s covers. And before he made his exit, several girls hollered, “We Love You” — in case we hadn’t guessed it already.
It was his final performance of the night, a nearly perfect rendition of Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight,” that may have won Phillip a ticket to next week’s American Idol finale (at least if the girls in the studio have anything to say about it). He had the crowd transfixed from the first non-guitar-accompanied note. Not to mention the judges — it was bleeped on your televisions, of course, but following the performance, Steven, who expressed his love for the performance, was reduced to curse words, telling Phillip “When you first came out here, you sang like you didn’t give a s**t.” But Phillip has more famous fans outside the panel — in fact, a special guest slipped in just to watch him sing. Standing in front of me was none other than Ryan Seacrest’s girlfriend, Julianne Hough, who come out from backstage just to see Phillip.
Backstage, Phillip told reporters the night was more about the Top 3 enjoying themselves than the competition itself. "It was a crazy night … I just did something and had fun,” he said. “We're all so numb because there's nothing we can feel since it's almost over. We pray before we go onstage and tonight we just talked about how much fun we're gonna have. It's not a competition. Everyone is so different. I'm not the best singer, but I love having fun with the music."
Adopting Phillip’s let-loose attitude, Joshua Ledet also delivered memorable performances, starting with the judges’ selection, “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James. As he sang, girls swayed to the music and waved their hands in the air while the judges nodded their heads to the song. After receiving a standing ovation from the judges and audience, Joshua left the stage with new air of confidence — moments before the performance he had been nervously pacing.
Joshua’s selection of “Imagine” by John Lennon surprisingly seemed to be one of the toughest sells of the night. While nearly everyone knows the words to this classic, it took until the end of the performance for him to receive a standing ovation from the audience. While Jennifer, Randy, and Steven all looked impressed by the performance, they weren’t their usual excitable selves when it came to Joshua.
After receiving hugs from Skylar Laine and Hollie Cavanagh, Joshua took the stage one more time to sing Jimmy’s choice, “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige. After playing it safe all night, he finally showed why he is still in the competition with this performance. The past idols in the crowd lead everyone into a standing ovation as Jennifer and Randy rocked out together. The audience even refused to sit as the judges began their critiques.
And let’s not forget about Jessica Sanchez, who may have made the riskiest choices on Wednesday night. Hello, singing Aerosmith in front of Steven?! She started off her night with “My All” by Mariah Carey, certainly not an easy pick from the judges. But though her low register was spotty, she managed to hit Mariah’s big notes — what more could her fans ask for? She also had the judges in the palm of her 16-year-old hand as Jennifer swayed and Randy nodded his head to the music.
It may have taken until the final note, but Jessica received a second standing ovation for her performance of “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith. Throughout the performance, the room appeared mesmerized by Jessica’s stage presence. But unfortunately for Jessica, her final performance was her weakest. Even though she received a standing ovation from the crowd almost immediately, the judges wanted to see more. But, Randy’s comment about just liking it, not loving it, made the crowd erupt in boos.
Do you think Phillip’s female fans will sway the vote? Who will make to the finale? Come back tomorrow to find out and read more of my backstage scoop from the Idol set.
[Photo Credit: FOX]
More:
American Idol Recap: Pick and Miss
American Idol: Season 12 Will Boast 'Creative Tweaking'
Idol Castoff Hollie Cavanagh on Her Bond with Joshua Ledet and Colton Dixon’s Fangirls

The Monster's Ball star has been romantically involved with make-up artist Connie Angland for almost 10 years, but unlike his last ex-wife Angelina Jolie, who is engaged to marry Brad Pitt, the actor doesn't want to walk down the aisle again.
He tells CNN newsman Piers Morgan, "I told her, 'Look, when you think of it this way, this is my longest relationship and we're not married.' So it's not real hard to figure out!
"Plus, you know, if you do that then the press would get into that, and call her number six or something like that and that's not fun. We're doing just fine the way we are and we have a beautiful seven-year-old daughter. It's all fine so let's leave well enough alone, you know?"
Thornton has five failed marriages behind him, including unions with Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak and actresses Toni Lawrence and Cynda Williams.

It seemed like this day would never come, even though Desperate Housewives fans have had almost a year to prepare. After May 13's two-hour, two-part finale, the streetlights on Wisteria Lane will go dim and the housewives will roll up their welcome mats.
Stars Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, and Eva Longoria will finish out the series without the original “fifth Housewife” Nicollette Sheridan, whose character was killed off in Season 5 and whose beef with creator Marc Cherry and ABC continued to be the subject of a very public lawsuit until recently. The main four women have seen their careers blossom thanks to the show and new fifth housewife Vanessa Williams saw a notch added to already well established career when she joined the cast in 2010. But the big question is: What now? None of these ladies are in as high demand as when Housewives was a pop culture phenomenon, watched by over 20 million people a week. So are they suddenly jobless? Not quite. The lead actresses have shrewdly been lining up post-Housewives gigs for some time now. Well, at least some of them have…
Teri Hatcher (Susan Delfino, nee Mayer)
Aside from being name-dropped (as “the meanest woman in the world”) in the aforementioned Sheridan vs.Cherry/ABC lawsuit, Hatcher hasn’t really been in the headlines at all — even her love life, or lack thereof, hasn’t surfaced much. And then, just a couple weeks ago, wouldn’t you know it, she finally booked her first post-Housewives job: A four-episode arc on ABC Family’s fashion-y dramedy series Jane by Design, on which she’ll also make her directorial debut. The premiere is June 5, and the Hatcher episode airs June 19 — meaning fans will only be Hatcherless for about a month after Housewives ends. Although, such fans might be in for in for a lengthy period without the actress after that, as she hasn’t announced any further plans. Felicity Huffman (Lynette Scavo)
The only Oscar-nominated (for her amazing performance in 2005’s Transamerica) full-time resident of Wisteria Lane has just one concrete post-Housewives project currently lined up, but it’s quite a special one: her husband (and recent co-Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree) William H. Macy's feature directorial debut, Rudderless. Although the movie isn’t their first together — they both starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia — Rudderless does mark the couple’s debut as co-leads, which is a testament to just how far Huffman's star power has risen. Of course, she's always possessed great talent, no matter how much fame accompanied it. Aside from Rudderless, Huffman is said to be developing a TNT series and was once attached to David Mamet’s next big-screen adaptation, but both projects appear dormant at the moment. Marcia Cross (Bree Van De Kamp)
After her second TV megahit (the early ‘90s Fox soap Melrose Place being the first), Cross seems the most content to take some substantial time off and plot her next move — if there is one. And who could blame her? Cross has literally been on a TV show or in a movie every year since 1984! While we doubt she’ll completely put an end to that streak and take off all of 2013, it’ll likely be a while before we see Cross again. Eva Longoria (Gabrielle Solis)
The least-known Housewife pre-2004 is unquestionably the most famous of the bunch today (she was also the highest-paid TV actress last year) — and the one we’d have to vote Most Likely to Succeed After Desperate Housewives. While we’ll still be seeing plenty of Longoria on the covers of magazines, we’ll also see a lot of her in character on the big screen: In 2012 alone, she’ll appear in the drama Long Time Gone, the action comedy The Baytown Disco, and the thriller The Truth, alongside Forest Whitaker and Andy Garcia. Separately (i.e., without firm release dates), there’s the canine comedy Who Gets the Dog, the Brendan Fraser-starring historical drama Four Kings, and the animated Hulu series Child Support, on which she’ll voice the “female Peter Griffin”-like lead. So, forget Most Likely to Succeed; if showbiz is measured by the amount of projects you have at any given moment — which, by the way, it is! — then she’s already the most successful post-Housewives Housewife. Vanessa Williams (Renee Perry)
Williams joined the series fresh off a major gig on Ugly Betty, adding her established star power to Wisteria Lane when she became a regular last season. We could wager that Housewives needed her even more than she needed it. Regardless, Williams's career has benefited from her sufficiently catty, vixen-y performance, and no doubt served as a showcase to help score a pair of major upcoming projects: Another potential TV hit in the adaptation 666 Park Ave. on ABC and a prime spot in Tyler Perry's next box office sure thing, 2013's The Marriage Counselor. [Image: ABC] More: 'Desperate Housewives' Shocking Death: Other surprises in Store for Finale? 'Desperate Housewives' Cast Signs On for Season 8 Eva Longoria Lines Up Three Projects